Former State house director Douglas Tapfuma has dumped his
legal practitioner in favour of prominent lawyer Jonathan Samkange after an
unsuccessful bail bid at the High Court.
Tapfuma (53) who was initially represented by Valentine
Mutatu, hired Samkange to represent his bail bid at the lower court on changed
circumstances.
The ex-State house director appeared before magistrate
Hosea Mujaya who remanded him to Monday for bail application saying the court
was overwhelmed.
Tapfuma initially filed for bail at the lower courts, but a
Harare magistrate dismissed the application, with the High Court also upholding
the dismal.
It is alleged that on April 17, 2018 Tapfuma allegedly
assigned Bonani Ganyane an officer working in the transport section of the
Department of State Residences to proceed to Beitbridge and facilitate
clearance of his two personal vehicles using report order forms as if they were
government vehicles.
It is the State case that clearance of goods by report
order form is a clearance procedure that is normally used by government
departments to apply for deferred clearance of goods from the Zimbabwe Revenue
Authority.
After clearing the alleged vehicles, Tapfuma allegedly
instructed Ganyane to hand over the vehicles to Vongaishe Mupereri who at that
time was MP for Mbizo.
The court heard that on April 20, 2018 Tapfuma made an
application to the Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and cabinet
requesting for duty-free certificates in the name of the President’s Department
and they were issued.
Tapfuma allegedly applied for duty exemption for the
vehicles at Zimra which was granted.
The vehicles were liable to excise duty of US$3 180.
Newsday
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